[holding answer 15 May 2008]: The number of student loan borrowers who have received refunds for over-repayments made in each year since 2001 are set out in Table A.
Table B shows that the number of borrowers making over-repayments from 2001-02 to 2006-07 amounted to 3 per cent. of all borrowers making repayments over this period. The table also shows the amount refunded to borrowers who over-repaid over the same period amounted to just 1 per cent. of the total amounts repaid by all student loan borrowers.
There are a variety of circumstances why borrowers overpay but this mainly occurs when loans come to the end of repayment. Over-repayments from mortgage style borrowers will only arise once their loan has been cleared where the borrower has failed to cancel repayment arrangements with their bank.
For student loan borrowers with income contingent repayment loans, repayments are predominantly made through the tax system. Due to the time lag in the Student Loans Company (SLC) receiving information from HM Revenue and Customs it is possible for borrowers to over-repay before the SLC becomes aware that their repayments should stop.
Where the pattern of payments shows that repayment will be completed during the coming year, the SLC invites borrowers to get in touch to discuss when repayments should stop. Borrowers are then able to make manual repayments. If they do not respond promptly to the SLC, or ignore the invitation, they will probably overpay.
From June this year the SLC is introducing a new website facility specifically for repaying customers. This will give borrowers the ability to view their most current statement and it will also give them the chance to calculate their balance based on what they can see in their payslips.
The SLC is working on further improving the loan end process and has been asked to put in place arrangements which will reduce the number of borrowers over-repaying at the end of repayment. Those arrangements, which are likely to be voluntary, are expected to be in place towards the end of next year.
Any borrower who has repaid, should contact the SLC immediately to obtain a full refund with interest. All refunds include interest at the same (Retail Price Index) rate that was charged on the loan.
(a) Borrowers paying off their loan (b) Borrowers who have paid off their loan Financial year Number overpaying Amount repaid (£) Number overpaying Amount repaid (£) Total number of borrowers receiving refunds for overpayments Total refund amounts (£) 2001-02 12,300 1,569,000 3,600 394,000 15,900 1,963,000 2002-03 10,000 1,472,000 4,700 853,000 14,700 2,325,000 2003-04 6,300 982,000 10,800 2,563,000 17,600 3,545,000 2004-05 6,300 934,000 12,000 4,439,000 18,300 5,374,000 2005-06 5,600 580,000 19,400 6,898,000 25,000 7,679,000 2006-07 4,100 588,000 15,400 8,230,000 19,600 8,817,000 2007-08 2,800 434,000 19,900 12,643,000 22,700 13,077,000 Total 48,100 6,759,000 85,700 36,021,000 133,779 42,780,000 Notes: 1. Includes all customers (income contingent and mortgage style) who have passed their Statutory Repayment Due Date (SRDD) irrespective of their current status. 2. English domiciled customers only. Source: Student Loans Company
Number of borrowers making overpayments Total number of borrowers making payments Borrowers overpaying as a percentage of all borrowers making repayments Total refund amounts (£) Total amounts repaid (£) Refunds as a percentage of all repayments 2001-02 15,900 645,600 2 1,963,000 392,710,000 <1 2002-03 14,700 666,700 2 2,325,000 462,909,000 1 2003-04 17,600 698,700 3 3,545,000 525,979,000 1 2004-05 18,300 718,900 3 5,374,000 542,577,000 1 2005-06 25,000 670,500 4 7,679,000 548,585,000 1 2006-07 19,600 793,400 3 8,817,000 585,214,000 2 Total 111,600 4,193,800 3 29,703,000 3,057,974,000 1 Notes: 1. Includes all customers (income contingent and mortgage style) who have passed their Statutory Repayment Due Date (SRDD) irrespective of their current status. 2. English domiciled customers only. Source: Student Loans Company